Social Media Platform Assessments for Activist Groups

This blog post is a required assignment for an Appalachian State University class: Social Media Strategies

Student/ Farmworker Alliance

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sfalliance/

5,255 Likes

5,647 Followers

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sfalliance/

420 Posts

1,286 Followers

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fgcusfa

90 Tweets

42 Followers

Cross Platform Presence

The Student/ Farmworker Alliance has the largest, most influential presence on Facebook. That is the platform which the group posts the most and is most active in terms of community engagement and responses. Instagram and Twitter presence does feel professional and could surpass the group’s dominant presence on Facebook. The Student/Farmworker Alliance, Amy Schumer and Alyssa Milano both recently responded to Chance the Rapper for a tweet about going to Wendy’s. Schumer responded on Twitter and Instagram Screenshots of the posts explain why:

Facebook Presence

On Facebook, the group clearly defines their goals and values. The current mission is explicit on their Facebook: boycott Wendy’s because of their refusal to pay one cent extra, per pound of tomatoes, to help stop sexual assault and rape while farming as well as to help farmers receive a living wage. They do provide more information, mostly in the forms of diagrams and pictures, about why the group exists and their future endeavors for farm workers' rights.  

However, the group will post multiple diagrams under the same post, and it would be more effective to spread them out to different posts so it doesn’t seem as overwhelming and the diagrams would be easier to understand one at a time. Most of their posts do not receive a proportionate amount of Likes compared to the page’s current Following. I think they should post more about the farm workers themselves and advocate for their cause on social media in that way; they should visually and textually explain the stories of individual farm workers or families that have been helped by this movement (with the workers consent). They also have been holding rallies around the US, they should post more about those rallies to encourage further activist involvement within the group, this would also help the grassroots movement easier spread from Florida to the rest of the East Coast, at the least.

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Sunrise Movement

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunrisemvmt/

40,728 Likes

44,546 Followers

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunrisemvmt/

396 Posts

25.2K Followers

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmt

8,541 Tweets

96.5K Followers

Bios explaining the group’s goals:

Instagram Bio: Building a movement of young people uniting to stop the climate crisis. This dark hour in America cannot last. Welcome to Sunrise.

Twitter Bio: We are building an army of young people to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process through a #GreenNewDeal.

Cross Platform Presence

The Sunrise Movement is a national movement that has gained a large enough following to break into smaller accounts on Instagram. For example, @sunrisemvmtdetroit and @sunriseboulder. Their largest, most influential platform is Twitter. They create content in the form of explanatory videos and pictures that use clips of policy makers, government officials, representatives, activists, etc. that explain the climate emergency and reasons for climate action. They clearly define goals for a Green New Deal on all platforms and explain how we need to view climate change as intersectional. On all platforms, individuals are provided with opportunities to educate themselves on the current climate crisis and what is being done about it. Boone’s App State Climate Action Collaborative is doing a showing of a Sunrise Movement film this week, so the group’s reach stretches to smaller activist groups.

Facebook Presence

The Sunrise Movement Facebook page is very easy to navigate with the purpose of learning more about the group, what they’ve done, and what they’re currently doing to fulfill their goals. Their posts include links to their website for more information about policy needed for climate change. They show specific policy makers and keep their following informed on changes and ideas for a Green New Deal. They post a lot about individual activism and many pictures and videos of specific protests and rallies. It is very helpful to transparently lay out the group’s goals and what they are doing to achieve those goals on a large scale.

The Sunrise Movement Facebook page is very active when it comes to explaining what the organization is about, as well as what the organization is currently doing. However, it does not provide many opportunities for individuals looking for a way to get involved in the Sunrise Movement. It provides a lot of information about the movement but not use the large following to promote other local or smaller community initiatives for Facebook users to get involved in their own towns. It would also be beneficial for them to provide information about how to get others involved in smaller communities, which would allow them to grow and spread from grassroots participation and education.

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Our Children’s Trust

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youthvgov/

27,291 Likes

28,372 Followers

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youthvgov/

984 Posts

11.3K Followers

Twitter: https://twitter.com/youthvgov

8,640 Tweets

11.2k Followers

Cross Platform Presence

Both Twitter and Instagram handles are @youthvgov, the same way that major court cases are presented. The group advocates for youth, through youth, and against government policy that does not guarantee a livable future for our future generations. Currently they are advocating for youth involvement in a court case, “Youth filed their constitutional climate lawsuit, called Juliana v. U.S., against the U.S. government in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in 2015. Earth Guardians is also an organizational plaintiff in the case.” (ourchildrenstrust.org) Most of the posts across platforms show the progress of this case and the youth involvement throughout the case’s progress.

Facebook Presence:

Their Facebook presence mostly advocated Juliana v U.S. and how the youth are taking political action for a livable climate in their future. They show fundraising opportunities, share progress, and many pictures of youth involvement to possible spark other youth involvement initiatives. The Facebook exemplifies community youth involvement and how powerful collectives can be, regardless of what age group compiles within them.

However, the youth are often fairly young in the photos, so their presence and use of social media through activism may be more limited (that may be ageist but also true). In my opinion, it would be almost necessary for guardians to agree with this movement to allow their kids’ heavy involvement with climate activism. The Facebook does not immediately provide opportunities for youth or guardians to become involved in this movement, which may limit the movement’s growth, especially because of its reliance on youth participants.